Denmark, Greenland and the United States signed a security agreement in New York on September 22, 2026, allowing an expanded American military presence while confirming Greenland’s right to self-determination.
The three signatures were placed on the document in New York, closing a standoff that dominated Danish foreign policy through 2026. In an analysis published the same day, DR political analyst Jens Ringberg listed five factors that made the deal possible.
According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the text during the UN General Assembly. Reuters notes that the agreement stopped short of making Greenland a US territory.
Reuters reports that the deal permits two new American military bases, at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, and an expansion of Pituffik Space Base. US aircraft and vessels also receive flyover, landing and undersea access across Greenland and its territorial waters.
The text sets no troop numbers and no timetable for the military build-up, per Reuters. Countries outside NATO are barred from maintaining a military presence in Greenland, while the agreement backs a stronger NATO role in Arctic security.
How the deal came together
DR’s analysis points first to the high-level working group set up after a meeting in Washington between Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt. Ringberg describes a slow, detail-driven diplomatic process aimed at finding common ground on Arctic defense.
Per DR, Danish and Greenlandic negotiators treated two points as non-negotiable, the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Both survived in the final text, DR writes, while the agreement was framed so Trump could present it as a win.
DR also credits allied backing. Several countries sent soldiers to Greenland, and French President Emmanuel Macron stopped in Nuuk before an official visit to Trump. Former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also voiced support for Greenland.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte played a role at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the start of 2026, according to DR. After a meeting there, Trump dropped threatened punitive tariffs on Denmark and other countries linked to the Greenland dispute.
Ringberg’s analysis says Copenhagen and Nuuk deliberately avoided provoking Trump, letting him break the news of the agreement himself. DR also stresses that Denmark and Greenland spoke with one voice throughout, after US Vice President J.D. Vance used a visit to Pituffik Space Base to criticize Denmark’s treatment of Greenland.
Reuters reports that the agreement must be approved by the Greenlandic and Danish parliaments before it takes effect. The deal follows months of tension over Trump’s stated ambition to take control of the island, a Greenland deal he now confirms has been abandoned.
